17 The Promise (6)

[Williams point of view]

I wiped away the tears on my face and reached for the hot chocolate as my mouth felt parched. The hot chocolate was now cold.

I did not know how long I was crying for. Mia's hand who was still holding mine felt warm, her warmth really did help me relax as I knew I was not alone.

I was able to calm down and stop crying, I told Mia and her parents what happened. Mia looked down while her parents look disappointed for some reason. They did not say much as we were both put to bed.

I was surprised as they allowed me to sleep together in Mia's room, but since we were just kids, I thought it was normal in the end.

"Mia, are you asleep?" I asked while I was lying on the floor, she was on her bed.

"No," she said, her voice sounded downcast.

I put all the courage I had and sat up. I looked at her and she was looking at me while lying down. "I'll write you letters," I said.

"Hmm," her eyes started to water.

"I'll be back soon and we'll always be together," I said full of determination.

She started to sob, I was also tearing up.

I approach her bed closer and sat near her.

I reached out my hand to hold hers while sitting up and leaning on her bed.

We fell asleep like that, me leaning on her bed while holding her hand.

Morning came, my father and sister were at the front door of Mia's house with the car. My father was talking to Mia's parents.

I did not want to leave but I had no choice.

As I got in the car, Mia suddenly shouted, "Don't forget your promise, Will!"

Looking back at her while she said that, I was nodding with tears in my eyes. I could see her standing with her hands hugging the bunny that I gave her.

That's the last time that we talked face to face up to this day.

There were a lot of things that happened, and as the time we spend apart grew longer, the right time to talk to her never came.

I was afraid of what her reaction would be. Just waited and waited, looking at her from afar, trying to come up with the right words to explain myself.

Sometimes words are never enough and one needs to take action. 15 years passed but I'll make it up to her for the rest of our lives. I'll prove my feelings through my actions this time.

This time I won't make promises but take action, I vow this to myself with full of determination while Mia was leaning on my shoulder reminiscing about our past.

Mia looked at me with a serious face, "It doesn't mean that I forgive you."

"I know," I said quietly beside her. I then reached out for a box that I had beside me and handed her the gift.

"Here, I got this for you," I said while smiling.

"It doesn't mean I'll forgive you by giving me gifts," she said with a scowl.

I was just smiling like a fool while looking at her opening up the box I gave her.

As she opened the box and reached for the gift, her face looked one full of surprise.

It was the same bunny rabbit that I gave her 15 years ago, but this time it was a boy rabbit wearing a blue collared shirt, black Capri shorts and sneakers. The most eye-catching thing on the bunny was the letter W embroidered on the chest of the rabbit.

She was sobbing while hugging the bunny rabbit and softly said "thank you."

We were again under silence for a couple of minutes, not talking, just savoring the moment.

She then said, "Stephanie has become really beautiful."

"I know right. I couldn't believe it myself." William laughed in a heartfelt manner.

"You're one to talk, you're the one who changed the most," Mia said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"I went through puberty," William answered while laughing.

"If puberty is all we need to become beautiful and handsome, then everyone should be as well," Mia retorted.

Looking at Williams' profile, in this dim light, Mia realized that he was extremely handsome. The ladies in the company were not wrong, it's just that Mia was not looking hard enough at his features.

"You've changed too, you don't wear pastel colored dresses anymore." Although William was aware of her changes, he was still baffled why Mia had a sudden change in her teenage years. Mia preferred to wear jeans and shirts.

Mia's face was looking at the sky when she said, "That's right, people change. Reality is harsh and we can't always be living in a dream world and fantasies. I grew up and realized that happy endings do not happen to everyone. We dream about things in our childhood, but it does not mean those dreams will come true. It's the same with the clothes I was wearing when I'm younger. I thought of myself as a Princess in my own little world, but that little world which I thought was perfect, crumbled. Once we grow up and become adults, we have to work to survive, work to live, work to become a responsible human being in society. Adults don't need fantasies, what we have, is our responsibilities." She sounded sad while saying this.

William wanted to say something, however, he couldn't. He knows he was also at fault for why Mia's thinking ended up this way.

Things might not have reached to this point if he did something earlier, however, what-ifs are just going to be excuses on his part. It was too late and all he could was fill Mia's void of unhappiness with better memories.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa

Editor - Chocolate Cake